Former University of Louisville President James Ramsey wants the U of L Foundation to cover his legal expenses in the lawsuit the foundation recently brought against him over his handling of millions of dollars in endowment money.

Ramsey filed a motion in court this month asking a judge to order the foundation to pay any and all costs he incurs in defending against the lawsuit because the case is connected to his prior service for the nonprofit organization.

The university and its foundation sued Ramsey — who resigned under pressure in 2016 as president of both those entities and whose performance has been closely scrutinized — in Jefferson Circuit Court late last month. Other defendants include Ramsey's former chief of staff, Kathleen Smith, and the law firm Stites & Harbison, which used to do work for the foundation.

The lawsuit claims Ramsey, Smith and a few other people knowingly caused the foundation to spend endowment funds at an excessive, unsustainable rate and diverted some of that money toward ventures with little realistic chance of repayment.

The lawsuit accuses Ramsey of arranging for the foundation to make "over $55 million worth of incredibly risky loans" and raises legal concerns about deferred compensation Ramsey and Smith received from the organization, which respectively totaled approximately $8.75 million and $2.6 million.

"Ramsey and Smith’s compensation is particularly egregious given their wrongful conduct, which they suppressed from the Foundation and University board members," the U of L complaint claims. "In other words, Ramsey and Smith were being excessively compensated from the Foundation while they were simultaneously improperly and secretly depleting the Foundation’s assets."

The university's lawsuit also claims Stites & Harbison helped obscure the paper trails for some questionable transactions. It says the defendants' actions cost the U of L endowment millions of dollars.

Ramsey "vehemently denies" the lawsuit's allegations and "intends to vigorously defend against" those claims, court documents say. "That defense will be costly, as is the defense of most lawsuits against corporate directors and officers."

Ramsey's request for a court order says the foundation is authorized to indemnify him by state law and required to do so by its own bylaws. However, the foundation's website now has an updated set of bylaws that include changes to the provisions concerning indemnification.

Ramsey's motion was discussed briefly during a short court hearing in Louisville Monday afternoon, but a judge hasn't weighed in on his request yet.

None of the other defendants have filed a motion like Ramsey's, but similar requests could be forthcoming.

Attorney Ann Oldfather, who represents Smith, said Monday that her client and other defendants sued by U of L and its foundation are all entitled to have their legal expenses covered, just as Ramsey has requested for himself.

But John Karman, U of L's director of media relations, said the university doesn't feel Ramsey or the other defendants are entitled to indemnification because of the intentional misconduct outlined in the lawsuit against them.

Attorneys for both sides in this case are expected to meet in court again in July for another hearing.